The study was conducted to assess the capacity building needs of Agricultural Science teachers for innovative instructional delivery in secondary schools in Rivers State, Nigeria. Descriptive survey research design with a sample of 28 Agricultural Science teachers drawn through purposive sampling from a population of 244 teachers in secondary schools drawn from both Andoni and Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Areas of Rivers State was used. Three research questions guided the study. A 20-item research instrument entitled “Capacity Building Needs of Agricultural Science Teachers Questionnaire (CBNASTQ)” was developed and used for the study. Likert 5-point mean rating scale was adopted. Cronbach’s Alpha reliability method was used to determine the internal consistency of the CBNASTQ and a reliability coefficient of 0.81 was obtained. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions. The study revealed amongst others that Agricultural Science teachers need to improve on the skills acquired through continuous professional development. Based on the findings, it was recommended amongst others that Government should ensure the continuous capacity building of teachers through the organization of workshops, seminars, symposia, and conferences to enable them to interact with one another and acquire new skills.

The study investigated the effect of Problem-Based Learning (PBL) on Students’ Academic Achievement in Digital Electronics in Ken Saro-Wiwa Polytechnic, Bori, Rivers State, South-South, Nigeria. Quasi-experimental pre-test post-test control design was used in the study. The sample of the study comprised 84 Higher National Diploma (HND) final year students of electrical and electronic engineering (Telecommunications and electronics option). Three research questions and one hypothesis were formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance guided the study. The instrument used for data collection was a 20-item Digital Electronics Achievement Test Questionnaire (DEATQ) designed by the researcher and validated by two experts in electrical and electronic engineering from Federal Polytechnic, Nekede, Owerri, Imo State. Kuder-Richardson formula was used to obtain the instrument’s reliability coefficient as 0.87. Mean and t-test were used to answer the research questions and test the hypothesis at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study revealed among others that problem-based learning enhances students’ academic achievement in Digital Electronics. Consequently, it was recommended among others that engineering technology lecturers in Nigerian polytechnics and universities should use more of PBL and other student-centred teaching strategies in instructional delivery in order to boost students’ achievement in technology-based courses.

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Youth refers to the category of young people who act as the livewire of every society. The youths are veritable tools for economic development and social transformation. Youth as defined by the National Policy on Youth Development (as cited in Olelewe (2016) is any individual who is a citizen of Federal Republic of Nigeria between the ages of 18-35). Similarly, Akande (2011) defines youth as an age of adventure; a bridge between the adolescent and the adults or old age who constitute the bulk of the workforce in any country in the world. In the view of Okwelle and Ayonmike (2014), youths are the engine room for meaningful development in any country. In Nigeria, youths formed two third 2/3 of the nation's population which implies that they form the active workforce of the nation. According to the National Population Commission (NPC) (2007), about 80 million which represents 60% of Nigerian Population is made of the youths. These youths are very active and willing to contribute their quota to the economic development of Nigeria. However, they are the most affected by poverty and unemployment. About 80% of Nigerian youths are unemployed (NPC, 2007). According to Owo (2017), youth unemployment metamorphosed into societal ills such as restiveness, hooliganism, thuggery, rape, armed robbery, prostitution, kidnapping, cultism prostitution, smoking, alcoholism, examination malpractice, among others. These vices which are prevalent in virtually all nooks and crannies of Nigeria which Andoni (Obolo) is part are mostly carried out by the young people. One major reason for which lawlessness and crime thrive in Andoni is inability of most Obolo youths to access adequate quality formal education and relevant technical and vocational education that can train them in life skills capable of generating employment for them. This menace of inadequate education and training of the youths resulted to under-development of the Obolo nation, a peculiar nation located in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. The Niger Delta is composed of nine Nigerian states of Abia,

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